Package: apt Version: 3.0.3 Severity: wishlist X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected]
Dear Maintainer, The program /usr/lib/apt/methods/rred is installed as part of the apt package and appears as a running process during package index updates, but it does not currently provide a manual page. By long-standing Unix convention, executables that may be seen or invoked by system operators should have a corresponding manpage for transparency and discoverability. The lack of documentation makes it harder to understand the purpose and role of this helper. The attached rred(1) manual page is based on the behaviour described by “/usr/lib/apt/methods/rred --help”. It documents its primary use as an APT acquire-method helper and its supported usage modes. Please consider including this manpage (with any modifications the maintainers feel appropriate) in the package. Thank you, -Neil Whelchel- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- System Information: Debian Release: 13.2 APT prefers stable-updates APT policy: (500, 'stable-updates'), (500, 'stable-security'), (500, 'stable'), (100, 'unstable') Architecture: amd64 (x86_64) Kernel: Linux 6.12.57+deb13-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU threads; PREEMPT) Kernel taint flags: TAINT_PROPRIETARY_MODULE, TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=en_US Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system) LSM: AppArmor: enabled Versions of packages apt depends on: ii adduser 3.152 ii base-passwd 3.6.7 ii debian-archive-keyring 2025.1 ii libapt-pkg7.0 3.0.3 ii libc6 2.41-12 ii libgcc-s1 14.2.0-19 ii libseccomp2 2.6.0-2 ii libssl3t64 3.5.4-1~deb13u1 ii libstdc++6 14.2.0-19 ii libsystemd0 257.9-1~deb13u1 ii sqv 1.3.0-3 Versions of packages apt recommends: ii ca-certificates 20250419 Versions of packages apt suggests: pn apt-doc <none> pn aptitude | synaptic | wajig <none> ii dpkg-dev 1.22.21 ii gnupg 2.4.7-21 pn powermgmt-base <none> -- no debconf information
.TH RRED 1 "Debian Project" "APT" "General Commands Manual" .SH NAME rred \- apply reversed restricted ed (rred) patches to package index files .SH SYNOPSIS .B rred .RI [ options ] .B -t .I input output patch-1 … patch-N .br .B rred .RI [ options ] .B -f .I patch-1 … patch-N < .I input > .I output .br .B rred .RI [ options ] .I patch-1 … patch-N > .I merged-patch .br .B rred .RI [ options ] \" (no arguments: acquire method mode) .SH DESCRIPTION The .B rred program applies one or more “reversed restricted ed” patches to a text file and writes the resulting updated content to the specified output. This patch format is commonly used for incremental updates to Debian package index files (also known as PDiffs). The primary use of .B rred is as part of APT’s acquire system. When invoked with no command-line arguments it enters acquire\-method mode and communicates with APT over standard input and output. In normal operation it is started automatically by APT during index updates and will appear as a short-lived background process. For testing and direct invocation, .B rred also provides explicit modes to apply patches to a file, to read from standard input and write to standard output, or to merge several patch files into a single patch. .SH MODES .TP .BR -t " input output patch-1 … patch-N" Apply one or more patches to .I input and write the patched result to .I output . .TP .BR -f " patch-1 … patch-N" Read the base file from standard input, apply the patches, and write the result to standard output. .TP .I patch-1 … patch-N Write a single “merged” patch combining all listed patches to standard output. .TP (no arguments) Acquire\-method mode for use by APT. Communication takes place via messages on standard input and output and is not normally used directly by users. .SH PATCH FORMAT The supported format is “reversed restricted ed”: .IP \[bu] only the .B a (add), .B c (change), and .B d (delete) commands are accepted, for single or multi-line operations; .IP \[bu] no other .B ed commands are supported (“restricted”); .IP \[bu] commands must appear in reverse order relative to line numbering, with changes affecting later lines appearing first (“reversed”). Such patches may be produced with .BR "diff --ed" . .SH OPTIONS .TP .B \-\-help Display a brief usage summary and exit. .TP .B \-\-version Display version information and exit. Other options, if present, are intended for internal use and are not guaranteed to be stable across releases. .SH EXIT STATUS .TP .B 0 Operation completed successfully. .TP .B non\-zero An error occurred while reading input or applying a patch. .SH NOTES Although installed as a normal executable, .B rred is primarily a helper used by APT and is rarely invoked manually. System administrators may encounter it while package index files are being updated. .SH SEE ALSO .BR apt (8), .BR apt\-get (8), .BR diff (1), .BR ed (1) .SH AUTHORS .B rred is part of the APT package management system and is maintained by the Debian project. This manual page was written for Debian to document its purpose and behaviour for system operators.
